Montville Letter: 'Last Hope to Stop Line Is Now'
A Pine Brook resident is encouraging Susquehanna-Roseland power line opponents to submit their comments to the National Park Service.
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The following email is circulating through Montville and wound up in Patch's inbox this morning. It says there's "power in numbers" in submitting comments to the National Park Service about the proposed Susquehanna-Roseland power line, which would be added along an existing line that runs next to the police station and a field behind Lazar Middle School.
Dear Montville Friends,
If you are not aware already, Montville’s last hope to stop the building of 200’, 500 kilo-volt power line towers through 7 miles of Montville is NOW. The current lines stand 95’ and run at 230 kilo-volts, half the height and strength of the proposed towers. Until January 31, the National Park Service (NPS) is taking comments before it makes its final recommendation about whether or not to let that power distribution chain come from Pennsylvania to NJ through national park land. Its draft recommendation is “No Build”, based in part on comments, petitions and the voices heard in earlier hearings, but the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has already approved it and President Obama has recently requested that this project be fast tracked, so it will be an uphill battle.
There has also been much debate about whether it is necessary to upgrade the power distribution system regardless of what path it takes. Regardless, it is slated to come through Montville and towers that high will be unsightly and visible from everywhere. Beyond aesthetics, there is no conclusive research about what the effect of electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by 200’ tall, 500 KV power lines is on human health. There are documented cancer clusters (mostly brain cancer) in neighboring towns where developments are built right next to the existing-height power line towers. KNOW THIS: The right of way for the towers runs right behind Lazar Middle School. The towers will be 200 feet from the back ball fields and 450 ft. from the building. How far-reaching and how strong will those EMFs be? What will be the effects of high-voltage lines on our adolescent children? Our kids will sit in those classrooms for 6 hours a day.
There is power in our numbers. For months, the NPS has been soliciting and recording comments in NJ and PA to help it make and justify its decision. January 31 is the deadline for this intake! There is an informational meeting tomorrow night in East Hanover and an NPS Hearing in Lafayette, NJ on January 26. If you cannot make one of the meetings to be heard in person, PLEASE TAKE 5 MINUTES and E-MAIL YOUR COMMENTS to the National Park Service—BEFORE JANUARY 31—at the following link: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=25147. This link will explain more. Click on “Comment” in the dropdown menu to send an e-mail.
(The direct link to submit comments is here: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?documentID=44314)
Every comment matters! So do our children. So does our way of life. So do our property values. So does the wildlife in our national parks. So does recreation and open space provided by our National Park System.
Information Session: Thursday, January 12, 7-9 PM, East Hanover Municipal Building, 411 Ridgedale Ave., 2nd Fl., E. Hanover, NJ 07936. (Another session will be held in East Stroudsburg, PA.)
NPS Hearing: Thursday, January 26, 6-9 PM, Farmstead Gold and Country Club, 88 Lawrence Road, Lafayette, NJ 07848. (Other hearings: Stroudsburg, PA 1/25 and Bushkill, PA 1/24.)
Please forward this information to other Montville residents. Thank you!
Heidi Calcagno
Pine Brook
In This article
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Public Safety Building
360 Route 202, Montville, NJ -
Robert R. Lazar Middle School
123 Changebridge Rd, Montville, NJ
Truscha Quatrone
11:40 am on Thursday, January 12, 2012
I also believe coming to the public meetings is extremely important. Government officials respond more favorably to public comments when the public is watching.
John Kristensen
1:47 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012
Keep up the battle. Residents are absolutely correct in being concerned about negative health, property value, visual, environmental and other negative impacts of above-ground high voltage lines. Don't believe what the power companies tell you. See Responsible Electricity Transmission for Albertans at www.RETA.ca for the facts. Burying this line would eliminate all of the negative effects of an overhead line, and over the life of the line a buried line is cheaper than an overhead line when all costs are included.
art daughtry
2:50 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012
John
Your reference intrigued me so I went to the web site. I could find no real info on a constructed long haul 500,000 volt underground transmission line. What bothers me is that the NJ BPU has not mandated the power companies to base line current EMF levels. IF (I believe it will) the line is built there should be no increase in EMF levels measured at the property lines along the current 277,000 volt route. This sounds a little odd, however, with specific conditions, the EMF levels can actually be reduced if the new line is built. Kudos to our Board of Ed for making the best of a reality.
John Kristensen
5:12 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012
Art: There is a growing number of longer-haul 500kV lines buried successfully around the world, including Tokyo and Shanghai. As well, there are many 400kV lines buried in Europe (400kV are pretty comparable to our 500kV lines). The Tokyo line, buried in 2000, has had no maintenance issues. A technical study on this line is: Yonemoto N, Muneta Y, Yamanouchi H, Seo S, Kumada Y, Itoh M, Kunimura S, Nakamura S, Fujii Y, Ishii T. 2003. Construction of the world's first long-distance 500kV XLPE cable line. Fujikura Technical Review:26-30. Europacable in Brussels is a good source of info for undergrounding high voltage power lines at www.europacable.com. Even for those who do not necessarily agree with the literature on the health impacts of overhead high voltage line EMFs, there is a fair bit of literature on the negative health impacts of the corona effect which can be felt several kilometres away from the power line source. There are fact sheets at www.RETA.ca on all of these topics.
art daughtry
6:51 pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012
Hi John - There are too many reasons that eliminate the 500 kv buried option to list here. The Tokyo job was done because it was thru the center of Tokyo. There are many viable reasons (none of which were financial) that this line was built as were some in Europe. All of these are thru population centers - Here is an excerpt from the Tokyo job
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7.10. Examples of Application
1.1.1. Shinkeiyo – Toyosu Line (Japan 2000)
Voltage Power Circuit Length Conductor Manufacturer
500 kV 2 x 900 MW 40 km Cu 2500 mm2 4 (JPN)
This project is a world first; in that it is the first time that 500 kV XLPE cable has been used for long distance transmission, and hence involves the use of a significant number of splices. It is also significant in that it is the longest AC underground transmission line in Japan. The 40 km, double circuit line connects with the 500 kV overhead power ring around Tokyo at the Shinkeiyo
substation and delivers power to the Toyosu substation in the heart of the city. Almost the entire route is enclosed in a custom-built cable tunnel,
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Also remember the "watts" factor where the overhead lines at the same operating voltage can carry more power (watts) than the buried cables. Thanks for your comments and constructive dialogue.
Rosanne Dawer
3:52 pm on Friday, January 13, 2012
The High-Voltage line cannot be built behind the Lazar Middle School!!! The High-Voltage Line could potentially make our town into a Cancer Cluster Zone. I lost my nephew to brain cancer and my friend's son to rhabdomyosarcoma. It is time to stop the loss (due to cancer) of any child or adult who was exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMF) generated by these High-Voltage Lines. Why would anyone or any one company want to install a tower that could be potentially dangerous to the general public? Is money drivng this installation? Is efficiancy behind this push? If this is placed behind the Lazar Middle School, what will be the effects of high-voltage lines on our adolescent children and their teachers? Our kids will sit in those classrooms for 6 hours a day. It is time to be morally correct and stop exposing our residents to electromagnetic fields (EMF.) The Lines cannot be placed in a high density area.
Cynthia
2:04 pm on Saturday, January 14, 2012
Well, Rosanne, what do you propose to do about it. You're right! But, if you read the letter or have lived here for 3 + years you would know that the BPU has already approved, and Obama wants to 'fast track' this because it would create 2500 jobs, most of which are temporary for a whopping 2 years! Gee, Mr. Prez, that's GREAT JOB creation! Seriously, PSE&G doesn't care about people or their health. They care about making money. OF COURSE 'MONEY IS DRIVING THE INSTALLATION'.
With such strong politics behind it, the only way to stop it is with individual people voicing their opinion, isn't it? That's what this person, Heidi, was doing with this letter. Are you going to one of the 3 hearings by the NPS? If so, are you taking friends to them? Are you talking this up? Have you called or written to your senators to tell them how you feel? Just curious because it is so easy to sit in your chair and write posts. This is out of the hands of local government. It is too big.
I already lined up a sitter so I can go. I have already commented on the NPS sight. Get all of your friends to do the same and go the the meetings. Then you can make comments like you did. I agree. But you have to step up and be heard. Hope to see you there!!!
Rosanne Dawer
3:34 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Cynthia, I would love to go to the hearings. And, yes, it is easy to sit in my wheelchair and write posts. Unfortunately, I can't drive at that distance at night and when I called the Farmstead Country Club (973.383.1666) to find out about their ADA compliance, no one answered the phone. If you can help me either get there or give me some constructive ideas on how to fight this battle vs. dismissing my posts, I would be open to suggestions.
Heidi Calcagno
3:03 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Reminder - NPS Hearing tomorrow night 6-9 in Lafayette. Take 5 minutes to email comments by Jan. 31 to http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?documentID=44314.
jan palmer
9:46 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Dear Montville residents, please visit our facebook page at stop sce power lines in chino hills and also our website hopeforthehills.org to learn about our fight against Edison Electric and their construction of 200' 500kv mono-poles! The poles were placed in a 150' easement, placing them 40-75' from homes along 3.5 miles. We managed to get our utility commission to halt construction and ordered Edison to submit alternate routes or a plan to bury the lines. We are making progress! And you can too! Visit our sites! You MUST fight against these monster lines! Sincerely, Jan Palmer, Chino Hills, CA.